WeWork, a New York-based collaborative workspace and the 9th highest-valued start-up in the world, opened its doors with its first community workspace in India - “WeWork Galaxy”, in Bengaluru. WeWork also targets two new centers’ in Koramangala and Whitefield respectively. The Bangalore launch also coincides with the opening of first location in Brazil (Sao Palo).

“WeWork Galaxy”, located in Residency Road, Bengaluru is well equipped to cater to 2200 members, powered by beautiful, functional work spaces, swimming pool and gym. The company is aiming to reach out to entrepreneurs, freelancers, SMEs & SMBs, start-ups across e-commerce, IT/ITES, retail, FMCG, healthcare, legal, and marketing segments amongst others. WeWork also caters to large corporates seeing to take advantage of its flexible offering and innovative atmosphere. WeWork(India) is also supporting Meghshala, an NGO that empowers teachers, the cloud-based way by offering special discounted rates.

WeWork was founded in 2010 to help create a world where people work to make a life, not just a living. There has been a macro shift toward a new way of work—one focused on a movement towards meaning—and WeWork is accelerating this movement. We have seen that more than 70% of WeWork’s members collaborate and more than 50% do business together.

Commenting on the launch, Karan Virwani, Director - WeWork (India) said, “We are excited to officially kick start our operations in India with the launch of ‘WeWork Galaxy’ in Bangalore. WeWork is a global company with a local playbook and the reason we chose Bengaluru as our first location is because it’s demographically the most diverse city with the second fastest-growing major metropolis in India having a very robust startup ecosystem.”

Ole Ruch, Managing Director, WeWork Asia-Pacific, added, “For WeWork, 2017 is a year of great expansion in the Asia-Pacific region, and we want to strengthen our communities here as we enter new markets. We’ll soon bring WeWork to Mumbai and Delhi as well, and are looking forward to seeing what innovative new ideas will come from these communities.”

‘WeWork Galaxy’ is located right in the heart of the city in Bangalore and its membership comes with internet access, cleaning and furniture. Members can choose from a variety of membership plans, which include hot desks, dedicated desks, Wi-Fi, housekeeping, private noise-controlled office, parking and a lot more. The building interior will be a mix of the global WeWork look and feel blended with a local touch of the Indian culture. Local Bangalorean street artists will adorn the walls of the location to give it a local authentic feel. WeWork wants to be wherever creators are.

Juggy Marwaha, Lead – WeWork India also mentioned that “Companies today are offering its employees the flexibility to work out of shared office spaces and execute projects which they are passionate about. With the launch of ‘WeWork Galaxy’, we intend to cater to the needs of this evolving segment and tap this new trend. At WeWork, we are creating beautiful, well designed and functional spaces that encourage collaboration.”

India is the fastest growing economy in the world with a young demographic. As India emerges as one of the biggest markets in the world, for tech based startups, work spaces are transforming from traditional and hierarchical to a relaxed and community focused setup. Whenever people are open to exchanging business ideas and open to new connections their businesses flourish and our buildings take on a flavor and feel that is unique to that place.

Each WeWork location in India will be overseen by a dedicated community team, who will interact with members, help manage the building and daily tasks, as well as organize events and programming that will encourage collaboration.

Last year in 2016, WeWork doubled its membership with over 80k members utilizing the space, community and services that it offers. It is excited to see companies like Microsoft, Bacardi, Samsung, and nearly 450 enterprise members embracing a new way of working across the world. WeWork which was founded in 2010, is adding approximately 10 to 15 locations per month, and today has 149 physical locations, offices in 188 locations, covering 45 cities across the world.